New airline rules, based on Rochester incident, take effect today

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WASHINGTON — New rules take effect today that aim to overhaul the way passengers must be treated by airlines during long delays.

The regulations, issued by the Department of Transportation, require airlines to provide food and water after a two-hour delay, ensure that the airplane lavatories are working during the delay and deplane passengers after three hours.

The regulations were prompted after an August incident in which a flight was diverted to Rochester and then held on the tarmac all night. Passengers were given only one small snack and a drink, and the plane’s on-board toilets weren’t working properly.

Amy Klobuchar, who has co-sponsored additional legislation in the Senate on airline passenger rights, issued a statement calling the new rules a “victory for airline passengers everywhere.”